Immigration is much more openly discussed in Europe than in Canada.
Yet there are many shared immigration trends between Europe and North America, especially in “gateway” cities such as Toronto, Metro Vancouver and London, England.
While most migration topics barely register in public, media and political discussion in Canada (except temporary foreign workers), polls show immigration has for two years been the No. 1 issue in Britain.
Almost every politician in Britain — of the ... Read More …

Vancouver-area Anglican Bishop Michael Ingham received an honourary doctorate on Friday from Simon Fraser University, which cited his bold leadership in extending full dignity to gays and lesbians within the worldwide Anglican communion.
The ethical position pushed Ingham, who is retiring this year as bishop, to the centre of a long, arduous and bitter dispute, which continues today (especially among Anglicans and others in Africa and the developing world. See Pew Research Center map below).... Read More …

The days are virtually gone in Canada when you could guess the religion of people by the colour of their skin or their ethnic origin.
And nowhere is that more true than in immigrant-filled Metro Vancouver, where one out of three Christians are members of visible minorities, particularly with roots in East Asia. (See interactive graphic below.)
This is also a region of 2.3 million people, in which fewer than one in eight Muslims hail ... Read More …

The term, “White,” can a bit confusing in Canada. People unfamiliar with Statistics Canada and the census sometimes feel a jolt when they read the word, “White.” For some people, including some Whites, the descriptor seems to have highly emotive connotations.
“Whites,” however, is a technical ethnocultural term that statisticians and academics have used for decades in Canada and around the world to describe a distinct groups.
I employed the term in my Monday story ... Read More …

Whites will be a distinct visible minority in Metro Vancouver in less than two decades, according to a new report.
After being an overwhelming majority in Metro Vancouver up until the 1980s, whites will make up only two out of five residents by the year 2031, according to projections done for Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
University of British Columbia geographer Daniel Hiebert also predicts that ethnic groups in Metro will increasingly concentrate in neighbourhood enclaves, ... Read More …

The British keep track of demographic trends more thoroughly than Canadians, who are not too rigorous about tracking ethnic changes in neighbourhoods.
And what the British have found is astonishing: 620,000 white people have left the city of London in the past decade. The white population of London is down to 45 per cent.
What’s going on? Scholars and others are trying to figure it out.
More important for Canadians, could something similar be ... Read More …

Which people of which ethnic group are especially attractive to each other?
In multi-ethnic Metro Vancouver, this is a subject that’s increasingly being hotly discussed as inter-radical dating and marriage continues to grow.
The results are surprising. While Census Canada has some useful data on this sort of thing, psychologists at Cardiff University in Wales have gone the extra step and actually tried to pin down inter-ethnic preferences.
Who do white women prefer?
The Cardiff ... Read More …

There has been a storm of intrigue and debate since I published a couple of postings about fears many Asian men have that many Asian women would rather date white fellows. Despite discussing a Columbia University study that found Asian women in the U.S. are “neutral” about white guys, and discriminate against blacks and Hispanics, many continue to accuse me of fostering a stereotype just by discussing this topic, which is a hot one in ... Read More …

Do Asian women lean to white fellows? It’s a question that constantly buzzes among Metro Vancouver’s Asian community, says my Vancouver Sun colleague, reporter Vivian Luk.
Raised in East Vancouver, Luk says her large circle of Chinese friends often has a lively time discussing inter-racial dating preferences.
So far Luk has made her choice — white boyfriend.
Luk, 22, a student in UBC’s School of Journalism, says she generally confirms the views expressed by relationship ... Read More …

Asian men in Canada often fret that the laws of supply and demand are working against them when it comes to hooking up with the right woman.
Many of Metro Vancouver’s 400,000 Asian men, more than half of whom are ethnic Chinese, express two major complaints about the North American dating scene.
One: They are convinced that Asian women would rather go out with white men.
Two: They worry that white men prefer Asian women.... Read More …

The campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has become linked with the vision of a “post-racial” world.
The catchy term has taken on a life of its own as debate rages over whether such a dream is good, bad, confused or impossible. Though it’s hard to find a record of Obama actually using the term “post-racial,” his supporters have said it points to a world in which people are not divided by race nor ... Read More …